Rare Book Monthly

Articles - May - 2022 Issue

AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices Paid in January-March

There it is, Wendy. Second star to the right (AbeBooks image).

There it is, Wendy. Second star to the right (AbeBooks image).

Here is a list of the twenty most expensive books purchased on the AbeBooks website during the first three months of 2022. There are books old and recent, in English and Latin, fiction and real, science and occult, and lots more. Tastes vary widely but one thing for certain is that the buyers were all collectors as no one pays this much for a reading copy. Now, here they are.

 

20. Friendship album of Mihály Pap. From 1765-1769. Pap was a student traveling around Europe. The album is a collection of messages, drawings, poems, autographs, etc., or as AbeBooks says, “rather like a print version of Facebook.” $10,470.

 

19. The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill. Eight volumes from 1928. One of the first self-help books. $10,630.

 

18. Ars magna lucis et umbrae, in decem libros digesta (the great art of light and shadow, in 10 books) by Athanasius Kircher, published in 1646. Kircher was a polymath who wrote about China, ancient Egypt, geology, science, technology, medicine, etc. This one is on light and optics. $10,770.

 

17. Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, A Tale by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1829. Not his most famous book, it mines the frontier settler and native Indian narrative, though written while Cooper was in Europe. $11,000.

 

16. The Works of John Locke, published in 1714. Published 10 years after the death of the great English philosopher, empiricist, influencer on political liberalism and Enlightenment thinkers. $11,550.

 

15. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. A special fire-proof asbestos covered edition and presentation copy. Asbestos? $12,000.

 

13 tie. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, published in 1943. A tale of life for the immigrant poor at the turn of the last century. $12,500.

 

13 tie. The Awakening by Kate Chopin, published in 1899. One of the earliest novels to focus on women's issues. $12,500

 

12. First on the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. by Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin, published in 1970. The Apollo 11 moon landing, inscribed by Armstrong, signed by Aldrin and Collins. $13,750.

 

11. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published in 1936. First issue, signed by Mitchell, but in a facsimile dust jacket.

 

10. Le Theatre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas by Willem & Joan Blaeu, published in 1648. One of those great Dutch atlases of the 17th century. $15,825.

 

9. The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens, published from 1843-1848. First editions of A Christmas Carol and four others. $16,000.

 

8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, third edition and first illustrated from 1831. Do not mess with life! $19,500.

 

6 tie. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, published in 1843. Odd that it's more expensive than the entire set but this copy is accompanied by a letter from Dickens. $20,000.

 

6 (tie). Neverland concept art by Mary Blair. The original painting of the appearance of Neverland from behind the stars for Disney's movie. $20,000.

 

5. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, published in 1924. Signed and inscribed by Forster in 1944. $23,700.

 

4. Hydrodynamica, sive De Viribus et Motibus Fluidorum Commentarii by Daniel Bernoulli, published in 1738. The mathematics and laws of fluids. $25,000.

 

3. The Book Of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians by Aleister Crowley, published in 1944. This is a work of the occultist, sort of an anti-John Locke. $27,500.

 

2. Hinterlassene Werke Des Generals Carl Von Clausewitz (the surviving works of General Carl Von Clausewitz), 10 volumes published 1832-1837. Von Clausewitz was a Prussian General who wrote about psychological and political aspects of war, including the “fog of war” that makes decision-making difficult. $27,750.

 

1. First edition set of Captain James Cook's three voyages, written by Cook, John Hawkesworth, and James King. Nine volumes from 1773, 1777, and 1784. One of the greatest of all exploration books. The tenth most expensive item ever sold on AbeBooks. $50,000.


Posted On: 2022-05-08 14:21
User Name: Philabookman

Bruce,

How do you know that these are the prices actually paid and not just the prices listed before being removed from ABE for whatever reason?

Curious,

David
elzevir@prbm.com


Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.
  • Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSAS
    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    JOUY; GARNERAY
    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE
    Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LICENT
    Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY
    Panorama d’Athènes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PEETERS
    Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    VALENTINER
    Atlas des Sonnensystems.
  • Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer

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